PM to hold review meeting with heads of districts that have low vaccination rates

An online review meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to assess the situation of Covid-19 vaccination coverage in around 40 districts in states such as Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Meghalaya. The PM, who has recently returned from the G20 and COP26 meetings abroad, will meet with District Magistrates to discuss plans for strengthening vaccination programmes.

According to an official statement by the Prime Minister's Office, the meeting includes districts which have less than 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. It was reported by government officials earlier this year that vaccination in rural areas of the country was proving difficult due to the distance people had to travel to get first and second doses, and the long gap between first and second doses of the vaccine.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said 78 % of India's eligible population has been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 38 % have received both the shots. India`s Covid-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 106.88 crore, as per data available on the CoWIN portal. The cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 107 crore on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said. As many as 37,38,574 doses were administered till 7 PM.